Editorial: Well-earned praise for highest-salaried employee at Hunterdon Central High School

One of the highest-paid employees in a school district today is the business administrator/board of education secretary. Sometimes the salary alone draws criticism; the money isn’t spent “in the classroom.”

Other times there is a false assumption of what the job truly entails — understandable when the only contact a resident may have is during board of education meetings, when it appears that the business administrator’s sole role is recording minutes and taking roll call during votes.

In reality the job is a complicated one, requiring knowledge, organization and diplomacy. Special praise is warranted for the school business administrator (BA) who is also a masterful money manager, capable of and assertive enough to save a district the cost of his or her salary, and more.

Ray Krov

In Hunterdon, no one does that better than Hunterdon Central High School BA Ray Krov, who is also a new member of the Holland Township Committee. He may not live in the Central district, but he’s known for treating school spending as if it was personal.

It shows: For the past six years Krov has insisted on zero-based budgeting. Over the past five years, on average, operating expenses at the regional high school have increased by 0.1% and the tax levy by 0.9%. For the 2012-13 school year spending is being reduced by 0.8% and the overall tax levy is declining by 2%, almost $1 million.

One reason is Krov’s analysis of debt from a 2004 expansion and renovation. He realized that restructuring the debt would save money and made sure it happened.

He has introduced programs that trim energy costs and suggested an emergency storm damage repair to a roadway that made use of recently milled asphalt on the campus.

The list continues, but you get the idea. County clerk Mary Melfi — another highly regarded local public employee — relies upon Krov for school business information. In her opinion, he is one of the best business administrators in the state of New Jersey.